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Earlier today, Lucky at One Mile at a Time broke the news that American Airlines was adding the shortest flight in its route network to the schedule. This got me thinking about what other US airlines’ shortest, nonstop flights are within the United States. The results are rather interesting.
American Airlines will add flights in February between Miami International Airport (MIA) and South Bimini Airport (BIM). The 64-mile flight will run 3x weekly and is operated by Envoy Air using Embraer E175 aircraft. These offer 12 First Class, 20 Main Cabin Extra, and 44 Main Cabin seats. This new route will take the shortest distance crown (only 67 miles) from American’s current Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to/from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) flights. American operates this route up to 6x daily using Bombardier CRJ700 and operated by SkyWest. These aircraft have nine First Class, eight Main Cabin Extra, and 46 Main Cabin seats.
Delta Air Lines operates its shortest flight between Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Lansing’s Capital Region International Airport (LAN) up to 3x daily. The intra-Michigan flight is operated by SkyWest using Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft with 12 Delta First, 20 Delta Comfort, and 38 Delta Main seats. The flight spans just 74 miles.
JetBlue’s shortest flight is not in the continental United States. Its route between San Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) and Saint Thomas’ Cyril E. King Airport (STT). This 68-mile-flight is flown with Airbus A320 aircraft. These have 42 Even More Space and 108 Core seats.
Southwest Airlines and United Airlines are tied on the shortest route. Flights between Denver International Airport (DEN) and City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) measure only 67 miles (the same distance as Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to/from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) flights). Southwest uses Boeing 737-700 aircraft with 143 Economy Class seats. United has the route operated by SkyWest using Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft with 50 Economy Class seats.
Spirit Airlines shortest route is considerably longer than the rest of the list. It flies between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO). This flight measures 178 miles and Spirit uses Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft on these flights. These planes have eight Big Front Seats®, 12 Premium, and between 120 and 208 Economy Class seats. Southwest Airlines also flies this route.
The distinction of the shortest route on the list is held by Alaska Airlines. Its “milk run” across Alaska consists of several short flights. At only 11 miles, the route between Petersburg James A Johnson Airport (PSG) and Wrangell Airport (WRG) is the least amount of time you can spend flying. Alaska uses Boeing 737-800 aircraft for this route with 12 First Class, 30 Premium Class, and 117 Main Cabin seats.
Anthony’s Take: Have you taken any of these short hops? I’ve long been fascinated with United’s “milk run” between Hawaii and Guam. Some of these other flights make it seem like driving is a good alternative.
(Image Credits: ChatGPT, Delta Air Lines, and Spirit Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
I flew on NWA to/from FNT and DTW. Also CAK and CLE